


Do Not Forget I am A Monster

by holdyourbreathfornow



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: And this is a just-because present!, From monster-king-gavin over on Tumblr, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Monster King AU, they’re a fantabulous artist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 12:29:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16429421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdyourbreathfornow/pseuds/holdyourbreathfornow
Summary: A gift for @monster-king-gavin on Tumblr!  I finally finished it!





	1. Blaze

As the king of the snowy biome, Geoff was unused to being warm.  This was why he loved when Gavin visited. The Nether King had a body temperature like a burning fire, snow melting under his feet so Geoff could see the ground.

 

“Am I just a walking bonfire to you?”  Gavin asked with a laugh when Geoff mentioned this, and the king was quick to change his wording.

 

“No, of course not!  You’re my friend and-”  Gavin cut him off and ruffled Geoff’s hair.  

 

“Don’t worry about it, Geoffrey!  Fire Nethers use their heat as a defense, so it makes sense that I do too.”

 

“What do you need to defend yourself from?”  Geoff laughed but Gavin didn’t, shrugging and ducking his head so Geoff was left staring at the short obsidian spikes of Gavin’s crown nestled in the Monster King’s burnt gold hair.  

 

“Let’s go make snowmen!”  Gavin said a moment later and the conversation was forgotten as the older King followed the younger through the snow.

 

-

 

A week later, Geoff sat at his War Room table, head in his hands.  The sound of the heavy oaken door creaking open behind him caused him to look up and he turned to face Gavin, who smiled at him before returning to gnawing his lip raw in worry, blood beading up under his teeth and dripping down his chin.

 

“I heard Ice Wolves were giving you trouble in the village.”

 

“You heard correctly.”  Geoff sighed and waved his friend closer, pointing to a spot on the sprawling map circled in blood-red ink.  “The pack has been tracked to this area but the ice on their fur keeps our weapons from doing any damage. All my diamonds can’t be crafted fast enough before the pack strikes again.”

 

“I want to go see.”  Gavin interrupted and Geoff shook his head vehemently.  

 

“No, it’s dangerous.”  He growled and Gavin rolled his eyes, gesturing with one hand to the Ender eye that glowed a violent purple at Geoff.  

 

“I believe I can defend myself, Geoffrey.  Now let’s go see some wolves.”

 

-

 

Villagers huddled and whispered viciously behind Gavin’s back, and Geoff was amazed the young man could still walk with his head held high, insults and rumors sliding from his Creeper-patterned cloak like water.  

 

“The Wolves are out there?”  The Monster King asked and the Ice King nodded, pulling his cloak tighter about him.  

 

“They’ve claimed five villagers this week alone.  I wish we could prevent more casualties, but-” Geoff was cut off by the sound of howling and running feet.  The villagers began shrieking when a pack of five or six Ice Wolves burst through the already-ruined fence and growled viciously at the assembled crowd.  “Oh, Jesus…”

 

“Good doggies.”  Gavin murmured and took a step closer, pausing to look over his shoulder at Geoff.  “I would move the crowd back.”

 

“Gavin-”

 

“Geoff, please.”  The elder King hesitated, but eventually nodded, staying at the front of the crowd as it shuffled back.  Gavin smiled softly at him before turning back to glare at the wolves. They fanned into a rough half-circle around him and Geoff hissed through his teeth, resisting the urge to yell when one leapt for Gavin.  Suddenly, fire rippled up from Gavin’s feet until his entire body was blazing almost blindingly bright, and Gavin reached out and closed his hands around the Ice Wolf’s throat. The poor beast yelped and scrabbled frantically, but his claws did not connect with Gavin’s skin.  Instead, the wolf went still and Gavin tossed it aside before he bared his teeth with a belly-deep growl and jumped into a tussle between himself and the wolves. 

 

And Geoff decided that Gavin could, in fact, defend himself just fine.


	2. Enderman

The jungle biome was difficult to live in, but Jeremy and his tribe of barbarians did just fine, laughing and bellowing through hunts and feasts alike, one of which was occurring around Jeremy right now, in honor of a visit from the Monster King himself, Gavin.  

 

Unlike more civilized kingdoms, the peasants did not shy away from Gavin due to his sheer power.  Instead, children clung to his shins and he would frequently disappear under men ruffling his hair and women smacking him on the back hard enough to make him stumble a step or two.  

 

Jeremy looked over to where Gavin was sitting under a tree away from the party, staring up at the round moon in the sky.  He considered his own sober state, then the drunken state of his tribe, before he lifted himself from his throne and ambled over to collapse onto the grass next to Gavin, who startled at the Barbarian King’s appearance.  

 

“My own people exhaust me sometimes.”  Jeremy smiled and stretched back on the grass to stare up at the full moon, ignoring Gavin’s nervous fidgeting next to him.  

 

“I simply don’t like being around people at night.”  Gavin hesitated on what he was about to say next, before he took a breath and forged ahead.  “For their own good.”

 

“Are you a werewolf or something?”  Jeremy asked with a snort and Gavin shook his head, though he laughed quietly, too, the tiniest bit of tension bleeding from his shoulders.  “Well, if it can’t kill me, then I want to see.”

 

“...Are you sure?”  Gavin asked and Jeremy nodded vehemently.  

 

“Come on, King, be somewhat diplomatic!  Fulfill my request or I shall challenge you to a duel!”  Jeremy pulled out an imaginary gauntlet and slid it on his hand, wiggling his fingers dramatically and making Gavin cackle with laughter.

 

“Fine, fine!  Only so I don’t have to deal with your god-awful acting anymore.”  The Monster King clambered to his feet and stretched his back. He turned to Jeremy, who was startled when he realized Gavin’s eyes were glowing a distinct purple.  With a hiss, like a torch extinguishing, Gavin vanished from sight. Jeremy shot to his feet and spun in a circle, eyes scanning the dark tree line, hunting for his friend.  When his eyes locked with a pair of dark purple ones, he grinned and Gavin’s white teeth gleamed in the moonlight from the force of his smile. With another hiss, he reappeared in front of Jeremy, who craned his neck back at the sudden height change.  

 

“So am I supposed to be scared of you now?”  Jeremy asked and Gavin shrugged.

 

“I have been occasionally accused of witchcraft.  Good thing I actually consort with witches, eh?” Gavin grinned again in the moonlight and the two went to rejoin the party, laughing together in the raucous noise of the night.

 

-

 

Jeremy’s head pulsed in agony and he grimaced as his eyes squinted in the dim light of the morning.

 

“The Majesty is awake!”  A voice boomed somewhere over Jeremy’s head and he gagged from the movement of sitting up, but some voice in his head told him this was necessary.  When his eyes could finally stay open, they fixated on the hulking figure sat in the throne that rightfully belonged to Jeremy, a sight that set his blood boiling with rage.

 

The intruder wasd another chieftain by the name of Horace the Killer, who wore a Pigman skin draped over his scarred chest, blood mixed with mud making a crude facepaint.  

 

“Horace, what have you done?”  Jeremy growled and clambered to his feet.  Gavin stared back at him, a shackle resting heavily on an already-bruised neck and wrists oozing blood from under the rough rope binding them.  The villagers were still unconscious, and Jeremy realized that Horace most likely drugged Gavin’s feast, and that more than anything incensed him to the point that he pulled a dagger from his boot and hurled it at Horace’s throat.  

 

The brute caught the twirling blade and bent the metal, tossing the ruined weapon into the grass behind the throne.  

 

“I was banished by your father ages ago, when you were but a whelp.  As the most powerful man of the village, it was my turn to rule, and yet your father banished me so that you, young and pompous brat that you are, could claim the throne.”  

 

“My father did not throne me due to our relations!”  Jeremy cried. “He knew that our tribe operates not on a physical strength, but a mental and emotional one, a strength that made the king able to lead, not just rule.”

 

“You and your father are both delusional.  And now I shall rule out people and kill a usurper.”  Horace pulled a battle-axe from the harness on his back and aimed the blade at Jeremy’s throat.  In the corner of Jeremy’s eye, he saw Gavin’s own eyes begin to glow purple, like they had last night.  The Enderman hiss filled the air and Horace spun his head to see the ropes and shackle binding the Monster King rattle on the ground.

 

This was the last thing the barbarian saw, for Gavin reappeared just behind him, wrenching the battle-axe from the usurper’s hands and ending his life.  

 

Jeremy stood and Gavin cut through his ties.  Rubbing his wrists, Jeremy grinned at Gavin, who smiled hesitantly back.  

 

“I should thank you for saving my life.”  

 

“That’s what you do for friends.”  Gavin hesitated on the last word, unsure, but Jeremy just grinned wider.

 

“Yeah, Gavin.  Yeah, that’s what you do for friends.”


	3. Creeper

King Jack smiled kindly at his subjects the majority of the time, but now he growled and sent his guards out like a deadly swarm, to pick through the crowd and choose a select few in order to punish them.

 

Behind him, Gavin shuddered and pulled his cloak tighter about himself.  This only served to emphasize the holes in the material from where some of Jack’s subjects had thrown acid onto the poor Monster King. 

 

“You dare harm a friend of your King?”  Jack snarled to the men bowed before him, who winced and cried as they were assaulted with tiny pebbles from the crowd surrounding.  “Our land is famed for its acceptance of all, but your bitter hatred has poisoned the soil beneath your feet, the air your fellow people breathe!”  

 

“Please, mercy, majesty!”  One man cried, reaching out and laying clinging hands on the hem of his king’s cape.   From behind Jack, Gavin muttered to him quietly.

 

“Jack, they didn’t hurt me that bad.  You should let them go.”

 

“The fact they hurt you at all is unacceptable.”  

 

“You’re too good a person to hurt them back.”  And when Jack sighed, shoulders slumping, Gavin knew he had won.  Jack turned to his guards and made a dismissive gesture with his hands.

 

“Let the men go.  The caravan is going to return to the palace.”  The guards bowed and the men vanished back into the crowd as Jack and Gavin were surrounded by more guards as they strolled through the city back towards the castle.  

 

Once they were safely inside and it was just Gavin and Jack, Gavin pulled off his cloak and ran a hand over the spread of burn marks.  

 

“I guess I’ll have to repair my cloak.”  Gavin joked and Jack merely stared at him before he sighed and collapsed onto his throne bonelessly.  “Jack, I’m alright.”

 

“Yes, but for how long?”  Jack ran a hand through his hair, knocking his crown askew and causing his hair to stick up.  “What happens the next time people harm you simply because of who you are?”

 

“They’ve done it before.”  Gavin shrugged nonchalantly.  “They’ll do it again. I am capable of defending myself, Jack.”

 

“Yes, but I don’t like the fact that you even have to!”  Jack felt frustrated, even while Gavin laughed and slapped at his shoulder.

 

“Oh, c’mon!  I didn’t come here to listen to you whinge, so show me those sights you keep bragging about!”

 

“Now that’s just not fair.”  Jack was grinning, seeing the change of subject for what it was and trying to forget the day as a whole.  “You know how proud I am of my kingdom.”

 

-

 

The villagers prepared for the midnight bonfire, torches held aloft as they blazed brightly in the night.  Jack stood on a platform alone, a temporary throne made for him by one of his most skilled carpenters. Gavin stood slightly behind his throne, a cloak patterned like a Creeper adorning him as a costume.

 

“My citizens!”  Jack’s voice rang out across the masses, and any murmuring ceases as hundreds of faces turned up towards him.  “We are gathered for the winter bonfire, a great tradition that we carry with us for as long as we have been a people!”  A great roar went up from the crowd and Jack raised his hands for silence, which he received almost instantly. “Now, we have a guest.”  He gestured to Gavin and while the applause wasn’t as enthusiastic as it was for their own king, that was simply to be expected. An unfamiliar stranger wasn’t going to be just as popular as a man the people had known for his entire life.

 

“I’m grateful to be here.”  Gavin said, projecting to be heard, and the applause was more enthusiastic with that phrase.  

 

“And we are glad to show you this tradition.  Archers! At the ready!” Below the platform, some of Jack’s knights lifted bows, armed with flaming arrows, and pointed them at the bonfire.  

 

The arrows fell with Jack’s signal, and the dried wood blazed to life, spitting sparks up into the dark night sky, twinkling and fading like the stars ever higher.

 

Jack and Gavin descended from the platform and celebrated with the villagers.  At some point, the two kings were separated in the throng of people, and Jack didn’t notice until another roar rose from a group directly by the bonfire.  At first he thought it was more revelers, but when a woman’s scream pierced the air, he snapped to attention.

 

His knights drew tightly around him as he ran towards the bonfire.  The men who had attacked Gavin in the streets now were trying to push him into the flames.

 

“Let him go.”  Jack growled lowly and the men cried in outrage.

 

“He has poisoned your mind, majesty!”  One man cried and Jack growled lowly under his breath.  

 

“The only one doing any poisoning here is yourself.”  The man’s face clouded with outrage and he pushed Gavin further into the fire.  The Nether King hissed with the voice of a Creeper as the flames licked at his side, and he looked up at Jack.

 

“You need to move away, Jack.”

 

“I can’t just leave you here, Gavin.”  Jack began to draw his sword, but Gavin smiled.

 

“I can handle this, Jack.  You believe me, don’t you?”  Jack hesitated before he turned and signaled to the group of knights and they began herding Jack’s innocent subjects away from the bonfire.

 

“Okay…”  Jack heard Gavin mutter, and then the hissing noise began again, growing in volume.  The little of Gavin that Jack could see began flashing with the same white light as a Creeper, and Jack’s eyes widened as he realized what Gavin was doing.

 

“Move back!”  He shouted and his knights lead him to cover as the bonfire flared into a gigantic mushroom of flame and smoke, chunks of wood and ash raining down on them.  The fallen forms of the attackers lay scattered around Gavin in a half-circle. 

 

The Nether King himself lurched back to his feet and brushed ashes from himself.  He walked towards Jack and the two kings hugged. 

 

“Glad you trust me.”  Gavin said with a grin when they released each other.

 

“You’re my friend.”  Jack shrugged and smiled just as widely.  “Of course I trust you.”


	4. Skeleton

From the turrets of his castle, King Michael could see practically to the edge of his kingdom.  As a defensive base, that came in handy, since Michael’s keen eye could make out the shifting masses of invading barbarians riding towards his home from far off.

 

Gavin stood by Michael’s throne, talking with Lindsay quietly as she held Iris, swaddled and tucked into one arm.  

 

“Did you see them?”  Lindsay asked when she saw Michael walking towards them.  He nodded wordlessly. “Alright, so what do we do?”

 

“Stand and fight.”  Michael muttered, leaning down to take hold of the tiny hand belonging to Iris that had fought its way free of the blankets as she fidgeted in her sleep.  “We already know this is a group that cannot be bargained with.”

 

“I should come and see.”  Gavin said and Michael shook his head.

 

“I want you to stay here and keep them safe.”  There was a moment’s hesitation as Gavin and Michael stared each other down, before Gavin burst into a wide grin and took off running, rummaging in his robe as he ran.

 

“Go after him!”  Lindsay whisper-shouted and Michael nodded, drawing the diamond sword from the sheath on his back as he followed Gavin up to where he’d clambered onto the turrets of Michael’s castle.  

 

“You fool, what are you doing?”  Michael bellowed, panting slightly as he ran up to Gavin.

 

“Being helpful.”  Gavin had a bow almost as large as himself held up and aimed at the mob, which grew nearer and nearer.  Even now, Michael could hear their repeated chanting, which flodded his bones and made him scowl.

 

“What does that bow do?”  Michael asked and Gavin turned to beam at him through the gap between the grip and the draw-string.

 

“Just watch, my boi.”  And with that, he let an arrow fly.  It soared into the midst of the mob and Michael opened his mouth to make a sarcastic retort when the ground began rumbling.  Where the arrow had landed, the ground cracked and yawned open. Skeletal hands holding their own bows, though none as large as Gavin’s, clawed from the ground and skeletal bodies followed.  

 

The Bear King turned to stare at his friend as his enemies were destroyed, all without him having to lift a finger or swing his sword.

 

“Alright, I’ll bite.  How did you do that?” Gavin grinned and slid the bow, unnaturally large though it was, back into his cloak with ease, the weapon not even making a shape in the material.  

 

“My bow is made from the bones of the Skeletons, as are the arrows.  When I fire, wherever it hits, it summons Skeletons!” Gavin pointed back out to the field, where the corpses of Michael’s invaders lay, and where the ground had sealed itself back up, looking none the worse for wear.  “And it’s got handy clean-up!”

 

“Fucking… Clean-up.”  Michael muttered wonderingly and tugged Gavin into a hug, punching him fondly in the shoulder, which made the Nether King squawk like a bird.  “Thanks, Gav.”

 

“Any time, Micool.”  Gavin muttered, bopping Michael on the nose. 

 

Of course, that left Michael no choice to try and kill Gavin, to the sound of Lindsay’s laughter from below.


	5. Ender Dragon

The Kings’ Summit was a yearly event, but this would be the first year the ruler of the Nether Realm would be attending.

 

Ryan glanced over his shoulder to where Gavin sat on his bed, watching him readjust his ceremony robes.

 

“Worried?”  Gavin smiled, closed-lipped, and shook his head as he bounced to his feet and hooked his chin over Ryan’s shoulder, looking at both of them in the mirror.  

 

“Nah, Rye-bread.  I’m actually a little excited!  Get to see you all in action, being the badass kings you are.”

 

“You’re going to be there as well.”  

 

“Yes, well, I already know I’m a badass.”  Gavin laughed and Ryan pressed a kiss to his grinning cheek, reaching down and lacing their fingers together.  

 

“We should get going, darling.”

 

-

 

The Kings’ hall stood on the peak of a hill, marshland sprawling out from the building like a wave of murky water and rivers.  Inside the hall were six thrones, each decorated to represent the king it seated.

 

Geoff’s was made of white quartz, tiny snowflakes carved into the back.  The seat and backrest were made of white fur, and Geoff sank slightly into the fur, his thick cloak draped across one armrest.

 

Jack’s was made of birch wood, the seat and back pale green wool that kept him warm, like the winds of his home.   Flowers were scattered across the wood, carved and painted into existence. His cushion was grass, dyed to look like the sunrise, and woven together carefully.  He sat straight up, and occasionally leaned over to Geoff to try to convince him to do the same. 

 

Ryan’s throne was carved from the dark stone of his mountain, and his seat, wood so deeply brown that it’s almost black in color covered with a throw of midnight blue wool, comfortable but still sticking with the theme of the darkness that seemed to envelop his mountain kingdom.

 

Michael’s had the huge pelt of a bear, with the head resting atop his throne, teeth appearing as a glittering crown of death over him.  Waves like those of his hills roiled down the arms and legs of the chair, and the cushion was simply more bear pelt, so thick and fluffy that it nearly obscured him from view as he reclined luxuriously into it.   

 

Jeremy’s had a wreath of jungle leaves, and the torch light danced through the branches, dappling Jeremy where he sat and the ground around him so his face flashe in and out of illumination.  The wood was the dark wood of the jungle, smoothed to perfection and achingly carved with the chants that his warriors bellowed for strength in battle, hunting, and life. The cushion of his seat was the hide of a wild boar which had been slain by Jeremy himself, large enough to fold over itself and still dangle from the seat of the chair to the floor.  

 

And finally, Gavin’s throne completed the circle.  Carved from pure obsidian, it was meant to represent the darkness of the Nether.  Shards of gold and iron were scattered across the stone, glittering in the light of the torches decorating the hall.  

 

“We should bring the Council to order.”  Geoff raised his voice over the murmuring of the assembled kings and crowds, thumping the blde of his sword against the stone floor.  “Order!” Once silence was the only sound, he nodded and began the introduction. “For years, our ancestors have fought for and against each other, striving to improve the quality of life for ourselves and no one else.  As the current kings, we agree that that can last no longer. This must now be a time of peace and cooperation, not of animosity and bloodshed. This precise reason is why we have added a throne to our circle, to represent the realm of the Nether:  King Gavin.” Though his introduction was met with more whispered gossiping then applause, Gavin still gave the crowds around him a polite nod. 

 

“King of the monsters, maybe.”  Someone jeered from the crowd and Ryan saw Michael’s eyes blaze into fire as his close friend was insulted.  The bear king rested his hand on the pommel of his sword and made as if to rise from his seat.

 

“And you can be the headless king, fool.”  He called into the crowd. Any jeering after that was silenced and Michael paused, ears scanning for any more heckling, before he sank back into his seat and nodded at Geoff to continue.

 

“We will call him as he is meant to be addressed, King of the Nether.”  

 

And with that, the business moved on from there.  Jeremy and Geoff debated over the boundary where one territory turned into another, but with Jack’s intervention, they kept anyone’s hackles from raising too high.  Since Gavin had an entire dimension for his kingdom, he didn’t bother with the boundary debates.

 

“With that finished, we move onto how to survive major disasters.”  Geoff announced, mostly for the benefit of the record keeper, who nodded and began writing quickly, occasionally stopping to refill his quill.  

 

Suddenly, the door to the hall was thrown open and a cold wind whistled across the stone floor, announcing the arrival of a huddled mass of men.  The foremost held a pitchfork and torch aloft, the light shadowing his face grimly, reminiscent of a skull, with his hollowed cheekbones and dark eyesockets.  

 

“Pardon my intrusion, my kings.”  The man’s voice was low, like the thudding of boots against the floor of some dark hall.  

 

“Speak your reason for entering.”  Geoff stood and partially drew his sword from its holster.

 

“No violence against you do I want, High King.”  The man bowed low, but Geoff remained ready to attack, eyes narrowed.

 

“Then against whom do you bear ill will?”  The man stood back up, revealing a crossbow held in one hand, one finger already on the trigger.  The crossbow swung and pointed unerringly at Gavin, at the exact middle of his chest. The man grinned, even as knights and kings alike began to run towards him.

 

“Farewell, King of the monsters.”

 

-

 

Time seemed to freeze as the arrow flew through the air.  Gavin had no time to even blink out of existence before the arrow planted itself into his chest, sending him sprawling to the side, curling around the wound in his chest as black and violet blood was spilled on the stones of the council hall.

 

In front of him, Ryan split off from the rest of the group, arresting the assaulters, and ran to Gavin, pulling his head into his lap and brushing his hands away from the wound.

 

“Hurts…”  Gavin moaned lowly and Ryan shushed him, carding his hands through Gavin’s hair soothingly.

 

“It’ll be fine, darling.  The healer’s on her way, just breathe for me.”

 

“They hurt me…”  Gavin growled and reached up to wrap his fingers gently around Ryan’s wrist and pushed it from off of Gavin’s head as the Nether King sat up slowly.  

 

“Don’t-”

 

“Trust me?”  Gavin asked and Ryan hesitated but nodded.  With a grin, Gavin stood up and began marching forward.  “You probably shouldn’t have done that, my good man.”

 

“Demon!”  The shooter cried and Gavin smiled maliciously, leaning forward slightly.  Simultaneously, all the lights in the hall flickered out for a solid second.

 

“You’re right…”  Gavin’s voice echoed through the darkness, distorted and wrong.  When the torches relit, Gavin loomed over the shooter, face hidden in shadows.

 

“I am.”

 

Two jet-black wings fanned out from his back, and his fingernails had turned to razor-sharp claws.  His eyes were black and his teeth were all jagged, his own blood oozing out from between them.

 

The villagers began screaming and running as Gavin leapt at his attackers, the torches around him spitting and hissing as his great wings buffeted the air.  

 

“Do try not to kill them!”  Ryan called out and Gavin’s claws stopped just before they pierced his shooter’s chest.

 

“Aw, don’t be a buzzkill, Rye-bread!”  Gavin whined, but nonetheless gripped the shooter by his shirt and lifted him clear off the ground.  “We’re at least going to punish him, right?” As he spoke, Gavin’s wings closed and were hidden under his cloak.  The black blood on his chin stopped drooling from his mouth and his teeth shortened until they were in his mouth once again.  The only thing still abnormal about him were his eyes, which were always odd. 

 

“Well, obviously.”  Ryan scoffed and waved to the knights lining the room.  With a rattle of chains, they cuffed the the shooter and dragged him from the hall.  Gavin grinned at Ryan and suddenly, the other kings crowded in around them in a loose circle.

 

“Jesus Christ, you got shot!”  Michael muttered and Geoff crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“We’ll definitely increase security for the next council, Gavin.  You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

 

“You, uh, might also want to take care of that.”  Jack interjected and made a loose circle with his open hand over his chest.  Gavin glanced down and saw the arrow still sticking out from where his cloak had fallen around it.  Without hesitation, he reached down, grabbed the arrow, and yanked it out of his chest. The other kings winced in unison, but Gavin looked down at the arrow before tossing it away, where it landed with a clatter.  

 

“So do we continue the meeting?”  Jeremy asked, looking around, and the group looked at each other.  Finally, Ryan spoke up.

 

“I actually wouldn’t mind just going to the kitchens, maybe having some mutton.”  He looped an arm over Gavins shoulders and pulled him into his side. The others nodded in approval and together they walked out, Gavin beaming just as brightly as any of them.  


End file.
